Comet service a disgrace

[katsayce]

Here's my problem, if anyone can help....

 

I telephoned on Wednesday 16th Nov 2011 to arrange a repair on my Hotpoint washer dryer WDL540G having paid £239.99 to extend the warranty. My first problem was with the new phone number they have replaced the one on my receipt with that charges 10p per min - ridiculous in itself considering I have paid £239.99 for an aftercare service! In any case, after being told I could either ring back or wait for a call back within 24hrs due to "high call volumes" I decided to wait for a call back and not spend any more than I already had at this point.

 

When I did receive a call back 4hrs later I explained the problems with my machine that had stopped working, in addition to my kitchen having flooded when I had to open the door to try and get my washing back out and the cycle had started but not completed. The assistant placed me on hold and when returned asked for a serial number that she insisted would be on the inside of the machine on the rim, however I explained that the sticker must have come off or been removed with the previous door (as the machine has already been once repaired by Comet due to a fault, during which I was without the machine for over a week) and was definitely no longer there. I was again placed on hold and the assistant reiterated that the sticker "must be there" to which I again assured her that it wasn't and in any case, since the details of my machine were on the system surely that would be sufficient since you know the machine is a Hotpoint washer dryer model WDL540G (details of which are on the insurance documents).

 

I was then informed that the details held were not enough to order parts beforehand and that I would "definitely need more than one call out", the first simply to establish the serial number which as I have already said is no longer there!!!! I was told that this was how it must be and then, after being placed on hold again, was informed the earliest first call out would not be until a week away. I explained this is not good enough as I have four children and cannot be without a machine for this length of time, let alone a further period of however long ordering parts would be, however the assistant clearly was not concerned and said she would add me to a cancellation list but nothing else could be done.

 

I am really angry about this situation for a number of reasons; firstly the insistence that the engineer could not prepare for a call out without the serial number despite knowing the make and model of the machine (as confirmed in a text message after the call confirming the repair date), and secondly the disregard for the extensive inconvenience being without a machine will cause my large family, especially as I paid £239.99 in the good faith that Comet would provide prompt and efficient after care. I can Google search my machine with the information they already have on record and return multiple machine parts, including from Hotpoint themselves, but Comet engineers with extensive experience cannot prepare for a call out.

I would love to know what exactly they have taken the £239.99 for as clearly it is not to provide an efficient aftercare service and asking me to wait this length of time is ludicrous when I have children needing clean school uniforms and my husband and I needing clean work uniforms - particularly as I work as a nurse.

 

To date no one has bothered to respond to my emails sent through the Comet site. Quick enough to take my £239.99 ON TOP OF the £439 paid for the machine to line greedy salesman pockets, but when a mother of 4 is left without the machine they couldn't care less. Under Consumer Law "the remedy that the Trader offers you must not cause you ‘significant inconvenience,’ as set out in Section 48B of the Sale of Goods Act (1979)". Comet I believe are in breach of this Law expecting me to be without my machine for "however long" it takes to order parts AFTER I have already waited a week for someone to look at it.

[rebel11]

Hi Kat

 

Welcome to CAG

 

Write a Formal Letter of Complaint, mark it as such, explain whats happened, explain that you've been let down, explain your personal circumstances (Kids, work uniform etc)

that the washing machine is vital, that you paid a lot of money for the extended warranty. Tell him what you want them to do. Send it to:

 

Bob Darke, Managing Director

bob.darke@comet.co.uk

 

Some tips - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/ar...complaint.html

 

Further in in 10,12 and 13 in my signature.

[katsayce]

Hi, I posted about my Comet issues in November but the problem is unresolved and I thought someone might be able to help as I am now wanting to bang my head against a brick wall!!!!

 

On 16.11.2011 my Hotpoint washer dryer WDL540G broke down for the second time since I purchased it from Comet, Bridgend on 24.05.2009 for £419.99, taking out an extended warranty for an additional £239.99 following Comet’s usual hard sell of “you can’t be without one of these” policies. My first problem was with the new phone number that you replaced the one on my receipt with that charges 10p per min - ridiculous in itself considering I paid £239.99 for an aftercare service! In any case, after being told I could either ring back or wait for a call back within 24hrs due to "high call volumes" I decided to wait for a call back and not spend any more than I already had at this point.

 

When I did receive a call back 4hrs later I explained the various problems with my machine that had now completely stopped working, in addition to my kitchen having flooded when I had to open the door to try and get my locked-in washing back out. The assistant placed me on hold and when returned stated the engineer has advised he could order parts beforehand and asked for a serial number that she insisted would be on the inside of the machine on the rim, however I explained that the sticker must have come off or been removed with the previous door (as the machine has already been once repaired by Comet due to a fault, during which I was without the machine for over a week) and was definitely no longer there. I was again placed on hold and the assistant reiterated that the sticker "must be there" to which I again assured her that it wasn't and in any case, since the details of my machine were on the system surely that would be sufficient since you know the machine is a Hotpoint washer dryer model WDL540G (details of which are on the insurance documents).

 

I was then informed that the details held were not enough to order parts beforehand and that I would "definitely need more than one call out", the first simply to establish the serial number which as I have already said is no longer there!!!! I was told that this was how it must be and then, after being placed on hold again, was informed the earliest first call out would not be until a week away on 23rd November 2011. I explained that this was not good enough as I have four children and cannot be without a machine for this length of time, let alone a further period of however long ordering parts would be, however the assistant clearly was not concerned and said she would add me to a cancellation list but nothing else could be done.

 

I was really angry about this situation for a number of reasons; firstly the insistence that the engineer could not prepare for a call out without the serial number despite knowing the make and model of the machine (as confirmed in a text message after the call confirming the repair date), and secondly the disregard for the extensive inconvenience being without a machine would cause my large family, especially as I paid £239.99 in the good faith that Comet would provide prompt and efficient after care. I can Google search my machine with the information that you already have on record and return multiple machine parts, including from Hotpoint themselves, but Comet engineers with extensive experience cannot prepare for a call out

 

On 23.11.11 the 1st engineer visit occurred. The engineer ("Keith") arrived at 12.30hrs and had finished by 13.00hrs. He did not replace any parts and simply cleaned out the pump which he claimed was the cause of all the machine problems. I queried this and I informed him that I felt the issues with the tumble dryer settings were different to the wash settings - however he denied there were any other faults with the machine aside from simply cleaning out the pump. I also asked about replacing the front panel to the machine which has broken off, but he refused to fix this claiming it to be "cosmetic" and not covered by the £239.99 policy I have taken out. I had no option but to take Keith's word that the machine was repaired and after he left I ran a wash cycle which seemed okay; however as suspected when I ran the tumble dryer setting the machine broke down and once again all the lights were flashing and the cycle would not complete. I took a video recording of this fault in case Comet attempted to wriggle out of it again!

 

I telephoned Comet again on the 10p per min. service number, initially spoke with "Rose" and explained how frustrated I was that my fault had not been repaired, especially as I had already made a formal complaint regards the length of time I had to wait for the service and the excessive inconvenience being without my machine had already caused. I was transferred then to a "Steven" and once again had to repeat my complaint - he then placed me on hold and returned to inform me that the system was showing an "error" on my account and that he could not re-book an engineer. He assured me that I would be contacted “ASAP” by a senior member of staff to deal with the problem and I reiterated how angry I was at the level of service and that I am not prepared to be without my machine any longer. He again assured me I would receive a callback. Not surprisingly no one bothered to phone me back until a day later when another engineer visit was booked for 28.11.11.

 

A different engineer came on 28.11.11 and, much like the first, did not spend a great deal of time examining the machine and I would say that he had pretty much guessed at the fault by my description of the problems since he did not wait long enough to see the cycle fail for himself. In any case, his 'guess' with the heater box would imply that I was likely to experience further continued problems with my machine as he said the error "most likely" lies with the box becoming clogged with fluff over time which he said is "very common". There is no way to rectify this problem other that via an engineer - since there is a flaw with the design of the machine meaning that the filter cannot be unclogged by myself (as can with other machines) and requires an engineer to take apart the machine to clean it. This is a design flaw that it well known and has been highlighted in at least 3 review sites that I have found and attached below for you to see - one of the review sites is on Comet themselves gaining just 2.5 stars, so clearly they are aware there is a design flaw yet are still selling the machine. I would like to know why the first engineer did not discover this fault even though I made it very clear that I felt the tumble dryer had a separate problem.

 

http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews103510.html

http://www.recommendedbuys.co.uk/hou...-wdl-540-g.htm

http://www.comet.co.uk/p/Washer-Drye...r-Dryer/442453

 

By now I was still without a working machine and this was now going into the 3rd week before the 'assumed' latest fault could be dealt with. That's 3 weeks without the machine I paid £239.99 to ensure I would never be without due to the necessity of the machine for my family. In the meantime I had written to Bob Darke, Managing Director, with my complaints in November 2011; he did not respond but a “Sarah Stark” at the directors office had been in contact to advise me that she would be “monitoring the situation”. She pointed out to me that if I was unhappy I should "take it to Trading Standards" which I followed up and a complaint was made and consequently handled by a Jemma Robinson, Fair Trading Officer at Bridgend.

 

By the 7th Dec 2011 the issue was still unresolved. The machine would wash and the drying cycle will run but the clothes would not dry - even after waiting 2 hours the clothes still come out wet. I contacted Sarah Stark at Comet and informed her that the machine was still not fit for purpose and her response was to... SEND ANOTHER ENGINEER!! I asked her what should I expect to be reasonable as I had already had 3 engineer visits over the course of a month and she said that there is no limit.

 

After a further visit on 09.12.11 the engineer could not find any reason for why my machine was still not drying as he said all the parts were working as they should and so he was "stumped". The only conclusion he could come to was to inform me that my machine was "inefficient" and that I "should not expect the same efficiency as newer models". He also went on to state that "these condenser dryers are known for their inefficiency" and that his only suggestion was to "run some extra spin cycles" to try and get the clothes dryer that way!

 

It seemed I had paid over £659.98 for a washer dryer plus insurance to have a machine that I cannot expect to dry. But it seemed this is what I was now stuck with since Comet were not interested in helping me further, neither were Trading Standards unless I could pay for an independent survey which I could not afford to do.

 

I therefore put up with not having a dryer however, once again on 02.02.2012 the original fault resurfaced - I had no working machine at all and another flood in my kitchen I telephoned Sarah Stark at Comet to once again be told I need to wait for another engineer visit and the earliest would not be until 08.02.2012. Once again Sarah Stark, despite patronisingly repeating that she “understood the situation”, informed me that the call-out could not be any sooner and that I would just have to wait whilst she “continues to monitor the situation”. The engineer came on 08.02.2012 and failed to fix the machine. He replaced the pump but informed me that this had not fixed the problem as the alternator had also blown and that he would have to order this part – he informed me this would likely take another week! So here I am again a mother of 4 with no washer or dryer even though Comet happily took £239.99 of my money to ensure this would not happen. I again telephoned Sarah Stark to urge that she must surely authorise a replacement machine as I had paid for new for old cover and had already pointed out as set out in Section 48B of the Sale of Goods Act (1979) "the remedy that the Trader offers you must not cause you ‘significant inconvenience’. However Sarah Stark stated that the machine would not be replaced unless it became un-economical to do so.

 

I pointed out to Sarah Stark that it could not possibly be economical to have paid for a total of 6 engineer call outs since the machine was purchased, 5 of which having been since November 2011, in addition to the numerous parts that had already been replaced. Sarah Stark responded that each time was a “new issue” and that they did not account for the overall costs – obviously this is how Comet avoid honouring their new for old agreements! Sarah Stark was asked to provide me with a copy of the summaries of each engineer visit and a costing for the call-out and parts in order to evidence the economical costs verses the unacceptable stress and anxieties that Comet have caused thus far, only to be informed that this information would cost me £10! Obviously Comet do not feel they have robbed my family enough yet and now want to charge £10 for data that legally I have been informed should have been provided at each call-out. I have never been presented with a print out at the visits to evidence what work has been carried out at my property.

 

 

Having written a formal letter of complaint to Bob Darke MD the case has now been passed to "Angelina" who has been as useless as Sarah Stark. She telephoned me today (15/02/12) to inform me that the parts needed will not be in this week and I just have to wait!!!!!!!!!

 

Please please help me to bring Comet to justice

[MandM]

Hi,

 

there has to be a limit where enough is enough and then it's 'money back' time.

 

I would suggest that you get an independent report carried out. If the machine is not fit for purpose due to its built in inherent problems you could/should argue that it's not fit for purpose (or the 'warranty') and that you want your money back.

 

You could then pursue this through the small claims court. Get TS on your side. Shouldn't be too difficult under the circumstances. If you're going to claim also for any further loss or damage (flooding etc) then introduce this now and include it in your claim.

 

This lot will string you along forever.

 

Mike

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?248771-Mrs-M-v-comet-RESULT

 

SOG Act will help you here

Edited February 15, 2012 by MandM
Added SOGA comment

[katsayce]

I have pointed out to Comet that Under tthe SOG Act, the retailer must either repair or replace the goods 'within a reasonable time but without causing significant inconvenience'. I have informed them of the SIGNIFICANT inconvenience being without my machine working correctly since November 2011 has caused but they will not respond to this and just keep telling me that there is nothign else they can do. I have today been told that the earliest the next engineer will get to me is the 27th February to fit the parts ordered on the 7th. Where do I go now???? Is legal action my only option because I do not have that kind of money

[MandM]

I have pointed out to Comet that Under tthe SOG Act, the retailer must either repair or replace the goods 'within a reasonable time but without causing significant inconvenience'. I have informed them of the SIGNIFICANT inconvenience being without my machine working correctly since November 2011 has caused but they will not respond to this and just keep telling me that there is nothign else they can do. I have today been told that the earliest the next engineer will get to me is the 27th February to fit the parts ordered on the 7th. Where do I go now???? Is legal action my only option because I do not have that kind of money

 

It's not your only option if you wish to keep trying to negotiate with them

 

The expense isn't great as it will be Small Claims. What you told them was, IMO, correct. It's up to you if you wish to pursue it. Only you can decide that. But you will find support and experience on these forums if you do wish to pursue it.

 

Mike